Spinning-rotor for making mineral wool and the like



Feb. 8, 1955 R. M. DOWNEY 2,701,388

SPINNING-ROTOR FOR MAKING MINERAL WOOL AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 1, 1951 Sheets-Sheet l Y Y I INVENTOR.

Feb. 8, 1955 R. M. DOWNEY 2,701,388

SPINNING-ROTOR FOR MAKING MINERAL WOOL. AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 1, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

R. M. DOWNEY Feb. 8, 1955 SPINNING-ROTOR FOR MAKING MINERAL WOOL AND THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 1 1951 United States Patent SPINNING-ROTOR FOR MAKING MINERAL WOOL AND THE LIKE Application November 1, 1951, Serial No. 254,376 Claims. (Cl. 1$2.6)

The present invention relates to an improved rotor for centrifugally spinning a molten material into fibers, so as to produce mineral wool, glass wool, and the like.

In the making of fibers of mineral matter, it has already been proposed to employ rapidly rotating spinners which hurl molten viscous material into space with suflicient velocity to produce fibers t erefrom. I ferent types of such spinners have been developed in the past. They may be roughly classified into three distinct types:

(1) Where a horizontal disc is rotated about a vertical axis, with the molten material being allowed to flow onto the disc, being flung into space from the periphery of the disc. This obviously hurls the fibers in all directions, in a plane substantially normal to the axis of rotation.

(2) Where there is used a disc which rotates upon a horizontal axis, with the melt being projected against its sides. Due to gravitational pull combined with centrifugal force, this will produce a more or less downward projection of the resulting fibers.

(3) An inclined roller or spinner is used, onto the grooved edge of which the melted material is allowed to fall. Usually two adjacent rotors or spinners of this type are used.

(4) A cylindrical spinner which rotates upon a horizontal axis, the molten material being allowed to fall upon the cylindrical surface, from whence it is discharged almost immediately, being flung tangentially outward.

The present invention comprises a spinner which is a compromise between a cylindrical spinner and a disc operating upon a horizontal axis. It comprises one or more closely adjacent spinner elements each having a section like a deep V, with the interior sloping wall serrated so as to form a series of steps, each step or ledge, however, being rather narrow. The molten material is allowed to fall into the V-shaped groove, and, as a result of the rapid revolution of the spinner, is thrown tangentially outwardly from the steps of the sides of the groove with sufficient velocity to draw the molten material out into fibers, which, as a result of the cooling by friction against the air, become solidified into fine fibers of mineral wool or the like, depending upon. the nature of the molten material. The temperature and viscosity of the molten material must be closely controlled so as to obtain fibers of the desired degree of fineness and length. As the present invention is primarily directed to the apparatus rather than to the details of its operation, no particular attention need be paid to the exact conditions of operation, except in so far as it may be stated that the temperature of the melt, for example, in the case of slag, may be from about 2500 F. to about 3000 F., and the speed of rotation at a melt rate of about 500 pounds per hour per disc, may be from about 7500 to 16,000 feet per minute. For a 16" disc, this corresponds to about 1800 to 3800 R. P. M.

The present invention is illustrated in drawings filed concurrently herewith, in which Fig. l is a front elevational view;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through one of the individual spinner elements along line 4-4 of Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale; and

Fig. 5 is a section of one-half of one of the individual spinners, on a still further enlarged scale.

The rotatory element which serves to transform the molten mineral-wool-forming material into fibers actual- 1y comprises an assembly of individual spinners, each of which has a deep V-shaped groove. These spinners are assembled on a horizontally extending shaft to form a set of the desired number of spinners-for example, ten of them. The. apparatus also comprises a frame and a suitable prime mover, such as a motor, and is mounted on a frame which rides, by means of flanged wheels, on a track so that it may be moved in and out of position relative to the source of molten material.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the apparatus comprises two rails Sand 6 upon which ride the wheels 7 and 8 which are suitably supported on a shaft 9. Bearings 10 and 11 serve to journal the shaft, and to these bearings there are secured flanged supports 12 and 13 which serve to support the stanchions 14, 15, and 16, which in turn support the actual fiberizing instrumentality. The latter comprises two bearings 17 and 18 which are supported on the stanchions and 16, respectively, by the intermediate supports 19. Passing through the said bearings 18 and 17 is a shaft 20 to which there is aflixed a collar 21, to which in turn there are keyed a plurality of the actual spinning elements '22, of which there are, in the modification shown, ten. The shaft 20 is coupled'by means of the coupling 23 to the shaft 24 of a suitable prime mover which is broadly designated by the reference numeral 25, and which may be an electrical motor, gear box, or the like'an electric motor, however, being preferred. The electrical connectionsare not shown as they are not a part ofthe present invention.

The said prime mover 25 is supported directly upon the stanchions 14, being secured thereto by the usual type of flanges and bolts 26 and 27.

As can best be seen in the side elevational view in Fig. 2, there are also provided a deflection shield 2 and a diagonally upwardly rising supporting beam 29 which lend rigidity to the entire structure. As aforementioned, the entire carriage rides on the wheels 7 and 8, there being two sets of these, the side Wheels 7 and 7 only b..- ingvisible in Fig. 2.

In order to prevent the device from moving on the rails when it is in the desired position, clamping means are provided adjacent the wheels consisting of angularly bent metal pieces 30 and 31 which have an inwardly extending flange 32 and 33, there being corresponding shorter flanges 34 which are directed oppositely thereof. The flanges 32, 33, and 34 lie directly underneath the head of the rails 5 and 6 respectively. By means of the bolts 35, flanges 30 and 31 may be forced against the rail heads so that the apparatus will not be capable of being moved until the bolts 35 are loosened, whereafter it is possible, manually or otherwise, to wheel the apparatus on the rails 5 and 6. The saidangular metal pieces or plates30 are secured to the carriage by means of bolts 36 and 37. Not connected with the apparatus itself, but serving to feed the same, there is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 2, and positioned almost directly above the spinner element 22, a trough 33 which serves to supply the material which is to be fiberized to the rotor elements 22. It should be understood that the lower edge 39 of the trough 38 is suitably lipped or cut away so as to supply individual streams of molten material to each of the spinning elements 22, so that there will be, for instance, eight streams of molten material falling into the grooves of the spinner elements 22. The two outermost elements do not receive any molten material, but serve as heat-flingers to cool the apparatus For a better understanding of the nature of these spinning elements, reference is directed to Figs. 4 and 5 It will be seen that the spinner elements 22 are substan tially of the shape shown having the deep circumferen tial grooves 40. The sides of these grooves extend down wardly obliquely, although they do not actually meet there being a bottom 41 in each of the spinning element 22. The sides of these elements, as can best be see: from the still further enlarged view in Fig. 5, are sex rated by being cut into the form of a very large nurr ber of individual steps 42, which therefore have a rise component and a step or tread component. This quite important and greatly contributes to the efficienc of the apparatus. As the molten material ntacts tt serrations, its downward flow will'be retarded and tl steps will fill up with' the material, a small amount of which will adhere to the metallic surfaces of the spinner. The result is that when the major portion of the molten material is centrifugally tangentially discharged, the individual streamlets thus produced will still be anchored at one end to the adhering film so that they will axis of rotation is approached.

Another important feature of the spinners is the pro vision of the depressions or cutaway portions 44 at both sides of the individual spinners. As the spinners rotate, considerable turbulence is induced in the air along dissipating heat. That is also why the two terminal spinners may thus be used as eat-fiingers as already indicated, which prevents undue overheating of the bearings upon which the shaft 20 is mounted.

he apparatus operates in the following manner: The shaft 20 and the collar 21 which is keyed thereto,

43, are rapidly rotated at about 2800 R. P. M. by means A suitable molten material,

wool, and at a temperature of about from 2500 to about 3000 F., in the case of slag, is'allowed to flow into the individual grooves 40 of the spinner elements 22. As the material tends to flow by gravity downserviced.

It will, of course, be obvious that the prime mover 25 can be replaced by any mechanical equipment, such as Steel alloys are now known which willwithstand the npact of a contact with molten slag without material eterioration, but it is within contemplation of the invenonto make the rotors out of .ceramicmaterial or in fact anything which will withstand the temperature and friction.

for receiving fibers. As such means are thoroughly well known in the art, they require no illustration.

The particular advantages which reside in the present apparatus lie primarily in the presence of the steps or serrations in the V-shaped groove and the lateral depresring the operation it will, of course, be a stream of material will be falling toward the bottom 41 of the individual spinning elements. It is a well known thing, however, that a falling mass of such molten material has a tendency to wobble from side to side so that it is most likely to hit one side or the the result that the falling stream is intercepted by a large number of sharp edges, namely, the lines where the risers or steps of the serrations meet.

Each step, in

effect, constitutes a rapidly rotating edge of a disc, that is to say, a cylindrical surface, while the sides or risers represent a vertically spinning disc. Therefore, the material which impinges upon the steps, as well as that which to impart the necessary momentum to the molten material to attenuate it into fibers.

I claim:

I Apparat us for spinning molten material into fibers which comprises means for meltlng a material and dis 3 all mounted for simultaneous rotation upon a horizontally extending shaft.

5. Apparatus for spinning molten material into fibers which comprises a shaft mounted for rotation upon a horizontal rality of d for rotation th with deep gro tion and havin of a large n axis, means for rotating said shaft, a plumounted on said shaft and keyed thereto erewith, said discs having sides provided oves substantially V-shaped in cross secg the sides of the grooves serrated by means umber of individual steps, and means for directing streams of molten material into the grooves on said discs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Gray Oct. 17, 1939 Vello Mar. 26, 1940 Davis Feb. 24, 1942 Van Deventer et al. Mar. 30, 1943 Hawthorne et al Apr. 16, 1946 Powell Apr. 30, 1946 Powell III-11: 1:; Dec. 4, 1951 

